WEBVTT CANYON, ME AND BIG BRO, LOVIN'ITIt started off as an idealSpring Break trip...smiles, new scenery, no complaints ...<"WE GOTTHERE, WE WERE VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT, WE TOOK PICTURESSmiles quickly turned totears...when Gom Dang was posingon a cliff for a quick photo<"IT WAS LIKE A BIG ROCK, ANYBODY COULD GOTHERE, SO WE DECIDED TO GO THEREAND TRY TO TAKE A PICTURE OVERTHERE"> <"HE WENT TOTHE EDGE, HE WAS FACING ME. ITWAS A COOL PLACE TO TAKE APICTURE"> His cousin and close friend,could never imagined what happened next.. <"HE STARTEDHANDING ME HIS PHONE. I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS I WAS A LITTLE TOOFAR FROM HIM OR WHATEVER THECASE WAS, I DON'T KNOW, AND HESLIPPED BACKWARD, HE FELL WITHHIS BACK AND HE ROLLED OVER.Gom fell nearly 200 feet to his death. Friends tell me hundredof tourists were in the area. Park rangers stepped in tohelp... <"AFTER ABOUT 30 MINUTES, THEY CALLED A HELICOPTER TO LOOK FOR HIS BODY BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FINDITAND THEY DIDN'T FIND IT THATDAY. THEY RECOVERED HIS BODY THE NEXT MORNING"> Friends and family describe Dang as a person who loved life and was very active in the community, cherishing everyexperience...not knowing this one, would be his last. <"HE JUST BRINGS SMILES ON PEOPLE AND HEMADE SURE EVERYONE WAS HAPPYAROUND HIM"> And growing up together, Dang was like a big brother.<"HE'S JUST A GREAT PERSON, I LOOK UP TO HIM, A LOT. I LOOK UP TO HIM EVERY DAY">

A 30-year-old Ankeny man fell nearly 300 feet to his death off a cliff in the Grand Canyon on Tuesday, park officials said.

Park rangers said they received a call around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday about a park visitor falling off the rim of the canyon west of Mather Point. Friends and family told KCCI that Gom Dang was posing for a picture when he fell to his death.

Advertisement

“He started handing me his phone,” Ruot said. “I don’t know, I guess I was a little far from him or whatever the case was, and he slipped backward. He fell with his back, and he rolled over.”

Hundreds of tourists were in the area when park rangers arrived.

A helicopter crew was able to locate the body about 280 feet below the rim.

But due to the time of day, rangers suspended the operation until Wednesday morning when they recovered the body via a helicopter long line.

Those who cherished Dang said he loved life and was very active in the community. He enjoyed every experience, not knowing his spring break trip to Arizona would be the last.

“He just brings smiles on people, and he made sure everyone was happy around him,” said Ruot, who saw his cousin more as a big brother. “He’s just a great person. I look up to him a lot. I look up to him every day.”

Family members said they are working to set up a fund in his honor.

An investigation is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.